PM Modi’s remarks on FTAs point to how trade agreements now reflect confidence in India’s economic direction
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India’s recent free trade agreements reflect growing global confidence in the country. The comment comes as India expands its network of FTAs with major economies, reversing years of caution around trade liberalisation.
This matters now because India’s trade posture was long seen as defensive. New Delhi prioritised shielding the domestic industry over deeper integration. The tone and structure of recent agreements suggest that calculation is changing.
FTAs are returning to the centre of economic policy
India has signed or concluded trade agreements with partners such as the UAE, Australia, and the European Free Trade Association, while talks continue with the UK and the European Union. These deals extend beyond tariffs into services, investment, and regulatory alignment.
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The renewed push reflects shifting global supply chains. Countries want reliable, large markets that can anchor production. India FTAs global confidence aligns with this moment, where scale and policy stability carry increasing weight.
Global partners now read India differently
Trade agreements function as statements of trust. They lock in rules, dispute resolution mechanisms, and long-term access assumptions.
India’s partners appear more willing to make those commitments today. Steady growth, policy continuity, and digital public infrastructure have altered perceptions. India FTAs global confidence rests less on future promise and more on demonstrated capability.
Trade policy has moved beyond deficit anxiety
Earlier trade thinking focused heavily on immediate imbalances and import pressure. Concerns about the domestic industry often stalled negotiations and led India to step back from broader trade frameworks.
Recent FTAs indicate a strategic shift. The emphasis is now on exports, services access, and value chain integration. Exposure is being managed through rules rather than avoided through isolation.
Indian industry faces higher expectations
For domestic firms, FTAs open new markets while increasing competition at home. Export-oriented sectors gain access, but protection diminishes.
This raises the bar for competitiveness. The logic underpinning India FTAs global confidence is that Indian firms can scale and compete if policy delivers clarity. That assumption demands execution, not insulation.
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The Hinge Point
For a long time, India treated trade agreements as necessary risks rather than strategic tools. Caution shaped both negotiation posture and domestic messaging.
That posture is changing. Recent FTAs show India positioning itself as a dependable long-term partner in a fragmented global economy. Confidence is now mutual, not aspirational.
This redefines what trade policy does inside India. FTAs stop being defensive shields and start functioning as commitments to competitiveness. When India signs deeper agreements, it is also signalling belief in its own capacity to perform under global rules. That belief, more than the deals themselves, marks the change.